Author's Notes: So, finally, an actual AU in here. This is a soulmate tattoo AU, something that I'm particularly fond of. It received a lot of attention, so I will be writing more of it. Not sure when, but it'll be in here somewhere and I'll reference back to this particular "drabble".

There will definitely be more parental!Royai, DogsRule82021. I've got one coming up that has to do with Riza and Alphonse and then one with Winry, too, plus more in the works in my brain. I'm getting a feel for it, I think, and not just reading it. And yes, Lin! You are exactly right. Both Roy and Edward are hopeless dorks. Thanks for the follows!

37. Match

No one on the team talked about the bandage on Hawkeye's arm. For as long as Havoc had known, it was always been there, like a brace right after her right forearm. After repeatedly catching glimpses of the brace throughout their first year working together on Mustang's team, he came to the conclusion that it wasn't due to an injury. Once that was done, he figured that it was probably to cover up a tattoo – and not just any tattoo. It was most likely one of those soulmate marks.

Breda wasn't so sure about it, considering that none of them had ever heard Hawkeye mention a thing about dating, but Havoc was pretty damn certain he was right. Maybe she covered it up partially due to embarrassment, but he thought that she just did it out of professionalism. Something like that soulmate tattoo business was very private and personal, and those were two things that did not mix with work. Lieutenant Hawkeye was the pinnacle of professionalism, whipping them all into shape in the process, so of course she'd keep something like a soulmate mark hidden while at work.

For the most part, Havoc didn't think anything of it. So the Lieutenant had a soulmate out there somewhere. He was happy for her, despite not knowing her feelings on the matter. She deserved it though for all the work she did. He wished she didn't feel the need to cover it up, but ah, that was how she was. He never bothered hiding his himself, filled with a mixture of obnoxious glee, amusement, and horror.

After all, having the words, I hope not all men are like you, scrawled on his left bicep had not boded well when they'd first appeared and it had been an even bigger shock when he'd heard them spoken aloud. Even more ridiculous was the fact that the person that had spoken them seemed to resolutely refuse that she most likely had his corresponding response tattooed on her somewhere. Tattoo soulmate marks were strange like that. The pairs didn't always get together like they did in stories, fighting with themselves over it as they lived.

Havoc really didn't think of the Lieutenant's possible soulmate tattoo for the longest time until he found himself in the hospital with the Colonel. It was a minor incident really (the building didn't completely fall on him, and he didn't have any broken bones), but he and his superior were hospitalized and forced to stay at least one night due to concussions.

"This is all Fullmetal's fault," the Colonel huffed as nurses came in change his bandages. Normally, he was quite pleasant whenever the nurses came in, but his mind was still taking in the fact that the person that had helped bring the building down had not been hospitalized as well.

Havoc wisely said nothing in response. It was true that Edward's alchemy had had immense results in causing the building they were chasing the suspects in to become unstable, but it had been Mustang's flame alchemy that caused the rabble to catch fire. Still, despite the fact that Mustang was without his ignition gloves, Havoc didn't want to find out if Mustang could use anything else to light him on fire. Once he glanced over towards Mustang though, something caught his attention.

There was a square bandage patch his lower left abdomen. Maybe it hid an ugly scar from the War, but when the nurse went to fiddle with it, questions of its placement already leaving her mouth, Mustang snatched at her wrist. She looked startled, but Mustang gave her an apologetic smile and explained that it was nothing. Havoc frowned and narrowed his eyes. Nothing could mean anything and judging from the almost embarrassed look on the other man's face, it was most definitely something.

For some reason, Havoc's mind jumped to the bandage on the Lieutenant's arm, but that was such a strange leap of logic that he dismissed it. Most likely, if it was a soulmate tattoo mark, Mustang didn't want just any pretty girl to see it. As everyone knew, the soulmate tattoo mark didn't come at the same time for everyone. His own parents' had told him that their marks didn't appear until two years after they'd first met. One couple he knew didn't have marks until after they were married and it was at separate times. It was rare, since most people gained their marks before they met their soulmate and at the same time, but not uncommon. Mustang did have a pretty active love life, so he probably didn't want any girl to know that they weren't the one.

What a sly bastard, Havoc thought with a snort, leaning back in his bed to wait for his turn for the nurse to come bother him. He didn't care if she saw his soulmate tattoo mark, being proud of it himself. At least he had one. He'd been worried for the longest time that he wouldn't be and spent his teenage years getting teased for it coming so late. Everyone reacted to the mark differently.

The next morning, Havoc awoke to the door slamming open and he jumped in his bed.

"Excuse me?" Mustang grumbled from his bed, throwing the blanket over his head like a child.

Havoc rubbed his eyes and then nearly gulped when he spotted a rather angry-looking Rebecca Catalina standing in the doorway, huffing as if she'd run all the way here. Behind her was Hawkeye naturally, her best friend and partner in giving men hell. Of course the two of them would be here so early in the morning. He gave Rebecca a sheepish grin. "Good morning, Second Lieutenant."

"Don't you 'Second Lieutenant' me, you idiot," Rebecca snapped furiously, pointing a finger at him. Not for the first time did Havoc thank a higher power that she did not jump to her gun as Hawkeye did. "Were you even planning on telling me that you were in the hospital?"

"Er…no?" Havoc, for all his keen skills at field and undercover work, knew better than to lie to a woman, especially one that could be as temperamental as Rebecca and owned multiple weapons. Still, he probably could have done with some lessons in softer approaches. Maybe the Colonel could teach him.

Rebecca took a deep, infuriating breath and then stomped over to him. Hawkeye slipped in after, shutting the door quietly, and walked over to the Colonel's bed. Havoc shot Mustang a slightly panicked look (he knew how to deal with angry women better than Havoc), but the man was preoccupied talking to Hawkeye, so he was forced to look Rebecca in the face. She wore a furious look, but there was a film of tears in her eyes, like she'd been fighting the urge to cry. A tinge of guilt flickered in him and he sunk in his bed.

"I was worried," Rebecca mumbled, a strange difference from the anger on her face. She glanced away from his face then and looked down at her shoes, anywhere but his bare arm. He always marveled at how much she refused to acknowledge her words printed on his skin. "I wouldn't have even known if Riza hadn't mentioned anything and then I heard about that building collapse and I…"

Scratching the back of his head, Havoc sighed. "Ah, hell, look, I'm sorry, Rebecca. It wasn't that big of a deal, I swear" – the sharp look at him told him that she thought differently – "and I didn't want to worry you, so that's why I didn't let you know. Clearly, that was a mistake on my part." Unlike a certain Colonel, Havoc was pretty good at owning up to his mistakes. He was stubborn, but not anywhere near Mustang's level and not when it came to Rebecca, for however much she was with him.

She seemed to melt in response, the anger sliding away from her, and sat down at the edge of his bed, taking his hand in hers. A spark shot up his arm whenever she did that. It happened at random, sometimes when she'd been drinking or when she was in an oddly good mood, but he enjoyed it every time.

"Ugh," Mustang grumped from his side of the room, "please get me out of here, Lieutenant, before it turns all mushy. I have to deal with that enough thanks to Hughes."

At his bedside, Hawkeye rolled her eyes just a hair and then handed him his hospital shirt. "Yes, sir. We can get you breakfast in the cafeteria. A walk will probably do you some good."

Havoc noted that Hawkeye did not look at Mustang directly when she held out the shirt, so as to not look at his bare chest. Maybe it was out of modesty or professionalism, but Havoc couldn't help but get the distinct feeling that it was out of discomfort and not because her superior officer was standing shirtless next to her. Once fully clothed and in shoes, Mustang promised to bring Havoc something back and his two superior officers stepped out of the hospital room.

Havoc stared at the door for a few more seconds. "Hm."

"What's that face for?" Rebecca asked.

"You've known the First Lieutenant for a while, haven't you?"

"Well sure," Rebecca replied, "known her since the Academy." She tilted her head. "Why do you ask?"

Havoc made sure to look the woman in the face, so he could tell better whether she lied to him or not. "Has she always worn that brace on her arm?"

"Actually…" Rebecca shook her head. "No, she hasn't." Before Havoc could ask her another question, she tapped him on the arm, right next to his soulmate tattoo. "And considering you're asking, you probably more or less know what's underneath. I won't tell you what it says – I doubt more than three people know – but I can tell you that she didn't start wearing the brace until after she came back from Ishval."

"She doesn't want people to see it," Havoc said in a mild tone. Rebecca nodded her head this time. That much he'd already known, but it did give him a few more clues. She'd allowed the tattoo to be seen before being sent to war. Maybe she felt guilt at having a soulmate; maybe she believed that she didn't deserve one. Both Hawkeye and Mustang were excellent at punishing themselves over the past, though neither one would talk about it. That comparison sprung something up again. "The Colonel has one as well that he doesn't want people to see. I didn't know of it until yesterday, but I'm almost positive of it."

A contemplative look crossed Rebecca's face. "Those two do a lot of hiding."

"You don't think…?" Havoc let the question die midway. The Lieutenant and the Colonel? Could they possibly be hiding more than just their soulmate tattoo marks? After all, there were the laws against anti-fraternization and even if no one but them would be able to tell that their tattoos matched with one another, it could raise complications. Maybe it said their names. That would've made things obvious. He couldn't imagine what it would've been like to have someone's name as a soulmate mark. It'd be like a brand, a tale of ownership.

Rebecca sighed and only shook her head, but for some reason, he knew that she was only telling him that she couldn't say anything and not that his assumption was incorrect. Everything slid into place, but the future felt jagged and unsure. If Mustang and Hawkeye had matching soulmate marks, it would make things a lot stranger for the both of them. It made perfect sense that they'd hide their tattoos at work.

All of a sudden, Havoc felt incredibly grateful that his own wasn't so complicated, even if he and Rebecca seemed to be rockier than a mountain. He at least knew that she was his, if not now, then one day. He smiled, squeezing her hand, and she harrumphed at him, a hint of her anger at him from earlier returning, but that only managed to make him laugh.